


relativity theory

by graceana



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, and fate (◠‿◠✿), i didn't want to write harry x girl but i had to, i hope i got all the timelines right with the ages, i know nothing about football so, i referenced string theory while writing but i messed something up iM SORRY I'M ONLY HUMAN, im sorry, it's really brief tho, like i make the girl cry when harry breaks up with her if that's any consolation, there's one slur in this i must warn you, when i picture their coach i picture the coach from teen wolf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-12
Updated: 2013-11-12
Packaged: 2018-01-01 06:30:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1041473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/graceana/pseuds/graceana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
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        <p>au. harry has a humming under his skin that makes him glow. (harry’s verse of <a href="973158">string theory</a>)</p>
        <p> </p>
        <p>          <em>“Nothing mate, but you’re glowing,” he smirks before they turn into the tunnel, shadows wash over them.</em></p>
        <p> </p>
        <p>          <em>Harry looks down at his hands, at his whole body, and sure enough he is. The silver hue glazes over his figure like stardust and the blue flecks like baby stars, waiting to expand and become homes to planets.</em></p>
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	relativity theory

**Author's Note:**

> wow okay hi, so i haven't posted anything in about a month or so, which i blame on school and the gym and being in a slight writer's funk lately but here this is. i know some people wanted harry's part of string theory so here it is! it's equally as cliche, so. anyways hopefully i got all the timing right, i tried my best my friends. you also sort of have to read string theory to understand this, sorry!! 
> 
> relativity theory is another astronomy/physics term which you can see explained [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEZupmpTcOU&list=WLBFA6F518301B7062).
> 
> as always i edited this myself, but if there are still any mistakes i do apologise. 
> 
> enjoy ! .x 

_and then my soul saw you_

_and it sort of went,_

_‘oh there you are, I’ve been looking for you.’_

iain thomas _, i wrote this for you_

★★★

“Mummy?” Harry looks up to his mother, wide green eyes reflecting off the Christmas tree lights, and pulls at her deep red dress with a small chubby hand.

“Yes, sweetheart?” she holds her wine glass in her manicured hand as she looks away from Harry’s aunt and down at her youngest child.

“Why am I buzzing?” he asks.

Harry’s only 7, but he knows that the constant hum under his skin and specks of blue sparkles in his eyes aren’t exactly the norm. He asked Brad, a boy in his class, if he hummed but all he got was pudding in his hair for that.

“You don’t buzz, dork,” Gemma chimes in as she walks by holding a plastic cup with grape juice in it, trying to mock the adults in the room.

“I do!” Harry shouts, stomping a foot like an exclamation mark.

“Now honey,” his mother chastes, “Are you feeling sick?”

Harry shakes his head, unruly curls falling over his saucer like eyes.

His mother looks at him with soft eyes, the corners crinkling around her warm, wine stained smile, “Come on, I think it might be time for bed.”

Placing her wine glass down on the mantle, she picks Harry up off the cream colored carpet and into her warm arms. He snuggles into her neck as the buzz in his bones sends sparks through his body.

Once she’s undressed him out of his small suit and into snowman pajamas, she tucks him into his dark blue blanket, placing a sweet kiss onto his forehead.

She pulls away with the same soft expression as before, her brown hair falls on her face, like it’s trying to hug closer for warmth, Harry understands as he shifts closer towards the edge of the bed his mother is sitting on.

“You know what grandma once told me?” she questions, pushing his curls off his forehead in a rhythm that starts to make his eyes heavy.

Harry looks up expectantly, waiting for her to continue.

“She told me that the stars from up above were in my veins and that some pieces of those same stars were in someone else’s veins too.” she tucks his hair behind his ear, and places another kiss to his forehead before walking out, closing the door behind her with a soft thud.

Harry’s at a loss for what she means, but when he turns over in his bed with heavy eyelids and glances out of his window he sees the dark sky and the stars twinkling on; deep down it’s almost like he understands.

★

“Give it back!” Harry yells as he chases Gemma up the stairs, trying not to trip on an askew pair of shoes that he left when he got home from school that day.

“No!” she shouts, locking herself in the bathroom.

Harry pounds with his small fist on the door, trying to get her to open it, but he knows it’s a lost fight, Gemma is relentless.

He slides down on the wall and sits on the floor. Small tears start to prick at his eyes, and leak down his cheeks until he’s full out sobbing with sniffles and body shakes.

He hears the pads of his Mum’s shoes coming up the stairs a moment later, and then sees her come into view. She’s in a thin purple sweater, and a dark wash of jeans, her hair is pulled into a messy ponytail with pieces falling around her eyes, the soft brown framing the green.

She stops when she notices him sitting on the floor, tear tracks running down his face, “Honey, what’s wrong,” she kneels down in front of him, already wiping the tears away from his face with caring hands.

“Gem- Gemma took Rufus.” He says with a cracked voice.

“Where is she now?” she questions.

Harry lifts up his thin arm and points next to him to the bathroom door.

His Mum stands up, pushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear and knocks on the bathroom door, “Gemma open the door.”

“No!” Gemma responds.

“Honey, why did you take Rufus?”  She questions with a calm voice.

“Because Harry spilled nail varnish all over my notebook!”

Anne turns to Harry with raised eyebrows, “Did you?” 

He stutters, “I didn’t mean to! It was an accident! It was on the table and I went to grab my crayons and didn’t see it,” he mumbles, looking down at his hands.

Anne shakes her head, “Gemma come out and give your brother back his Giraffe. I’ll take you to the store to get you a new notebook.”

A moment passes before the bathroom door opens a crack, Gemma peeking her head out and then throwing the whole door open wide. She throws Harry’s stuffed Giraffe, that his Uncle got him when he was 5, at him and walks quickly to her room.

Harry cuddles Rufus to his chest, squeezing tight.

“Come on darling,” Anne beckons to Harry, and walks down the stairs, calling for Gemma to get a sweater so they can head to the store.

Harry happily follows his mother into the living room to get his jumper on, pulling it tight around his chest as he holds onto Rufus with a tight grip, in case Gemma decides to steal him again.

“Mum, Rufus is gonna be cold,” he pouts, cuddling Rufus that much closer.  

Anne shakes her head , a fond smile stretching across her face. She walks down the hall and into one of the storage closets, rustles around for a moment before pulling out an old sweater of Harry’s from when he was a few months old.

“Here you go sweetie,” she hands it to Harry, and he quickly shoves it over Rufus’ arms and zips it to cover his belly.

Gemma comes racing down the stairs, grey beanie pulled over her hair and lilac jumper resting on her shoulders,” Ew, are you really bringing that.”

Harry pouts again, eyes going wide like saucers with sadness and his lower lip jutting out.

“Gemma,” Anne scolds.

“Mum, he’s _8,_ he shouldn’t be carrying around a stuffed Giraffe,” she rolls her eyes. Harry thinks 11 year olds are very dramatic. He could only imagine how actual teenagers are.

Anne slips her jacket on, and slides her purse over her shoulder, keys in hand and opens the door for Harry and Gemma to walk out to the car, “Hmm, if I do remember correctly you just stopped using a night light last month.”

Harry watches as a coy smile plants itself on his mother’s lips, she winks at him. Gemma’s cheeks turn a rosy pink color, “Mum!”

“Stop making fun of your brother or we won’t go to the park,” she finishes locking the door and heads over to the car, unlocking it and making sure both Gemma and Harry are buckled before she gets in the driver’s seat and starts the car.

“Are we really going to the park?” Harry asks excitedly.

He meets his mother’s eyes in the rearview mirror as she backs out of the driveway, “We are, right after we go to the store for your sister’s notebook.”

Harry and Gemma cheer from the back seat as Anne highers the radio.

★

After an adventure in the store where Harry drops a bottle of laundry detergent, having it spill the blue liquid all over the floor and crying until the shop lady gave him a lolly to tell him it was alright, and that accidents happen, do they arrive at the park.

Before Harry and his sister run off, Anne makes sure they’re zipped up and bundled in, because the wind has picked up a little since they left the house. She tells them to be careful, pointedly tells Harry to not go on the monkey bars because of how clumsy he can be, and then sends them off as she sits on the bench and catches up on some reading.

Harry runs straight for the swings and hops on one, pumping his feet in and out to gain some height. He stops once he feels he’s gone high enough, and looks out over the playscape which he starts to imagine is its own mini-kingdom. The slide and seesaw the market, the swings and main part of the playscape the castle and the monkey bars the evil witch’s layer, coincidentally Gemma is on the monkey bars making her way across.

He slows himself down and walks over to the monkey bars, watches as Gemma drops down on the last bar and swipes her hands together, “Bet you can’t do that twerp.”

“Bet you I could.”

“Bet you won’t because Mum said not to,” she crosses her hands over her chest, and cocks her hops, raising an eyebrow like she’s won.

Harry huffs and walks around to the start of the monkey bars, climbing the rungs to get high enough to grab onto the top bars. He carefully grips them, he slips his feet off the rungs and hangs for a moment before he ungrips one hand and moves it to the next bar. He makes it about 4 bars in before his hand slips and he falls downwards.

He falls awkwardly on his arm, it twists uncomfortably. A moment passes before Harry starts to cry out, the pain that shoots up his arm disrupts the usual humming under his skin, making it skew and pinpoint in on his arm, like it’s trying to heal him, but can’t.

“Mum!!!” He hears Gemma yelling and then his Mum is kneeling in front of him, questions falling out of her lips like rapid fire. Gemma silently lets tears fall from her eyes as she watches her brother scream out in pain.

She tells Gemma to run back to the car and grab the sweater that’s in the back seat as she carefully tries to lift Harry’s arm, making him cry out even louder.

Gemma runs back a moment later with the sweater in hand. Anne quickly makes work of managing to tie it as a makeshift sling so she can lift Harry and bring him to the hospital.

★

“It’ll have to stay on for about 6 weeks.” Dr. Cho tells them.

Harry’s sitting on the green fake leather of the bed in the stark white room of the ER, sucking on a lolly, the blotchiness of his face has finally gone down, from all the crying he did.

He stares down at his neon green cast as Dr. Cho explains to his mother how to wrap it so he can shower, and that if he experiences a dull pain its normal and some regular over the counter children’s pain medication should work just fine.

The three of them thank the doctor and leave the ER with tired eyes.

“How about some soup from Bella’s and then we head home. You two can stay home tomorrow from school.”

Harry and Gemma share a glance and nod in agreement as they make their way into the car and towards Bella’s for the best chicken and dumplings ever.

★

When Harry sings the humming that thrums through his bones, and slides through his veins harmonizes with the melodies that float through the air. It mingles around his heart and thumps against his ribcage with the bass, tingles the tips of his fingers with the piano, and zaps his feet into movement when he’s feeling a little brave to dance.

“Are you nervous honey?” Anne asks him, there’s still 2 days until his big concert (which is really just a bunch of 12 year olds singng), where he has his first ever solo, but he’s been practicing so much and biting his already stubby nails to the cuticle that it’s evident.

He nods, looking down into his soup, that his grandmother made (it’s the best for soothing a throat, or so she says), and slurps some more up.

“You’ll do great, I know you will,” his Mum beams down at him, same caring smile that she always has on gracing her thin lips, and making her cheeks with the rosy blusher apple.

 Staring down into his soup, Harry repeats his solo in his head over and over and over until it’s seared into his mind.

★

The night of Harry’s concert he’s so excited and nervous at the same time he feels like he’s about to be physically sick. There are knots in his stomach with butterflies fluttering around them, making him giddy and nauseous on the car ride over to his school.

“I still can’t believe you got a solo,” Gemma teases from the front seat; the soft look on her face betrays the tone of her voice as she applies another layer of lipgloss in the little mirror that flips down on the visor.

Harry rolls his eyes, a huge grin stretching over his face as his dimples indent his cheek.

“Gemma, stop teasing,” Anne chastes, her own smile etching on her face as she pulls into the car park.

“Yeah, yeah,” Gemma gets out of the car, pretending not to care when they all know she’s just as proud of Harry as Anne is.

Harry steps out of the car, nerves on end as his mother checks over his simple black tie, and fixes the little baby hairs that fray out.

The school is lit up from the inside out, people filing in from all corners of the parking lot: parents chattering as their children skip to the entrance, the choir kids are all dressed in simple formal clothes, the girls in simple white dresses, red bows tied around the back and the boys in black dress pants, white collared shirts and a black tie.

Harry briefly notices Shelby, a girl in his year who’s in his art class following Cassie, her twin who’s in choir with him, into the school. He feels his cheeks start to heat up and blush under the moonlight and then finally the artificial light of the school.

“Mum, Niall’s right over there I’m just gonna go over there with him,” Harry tells his mother, already backing away to meet Niall near the music room. Niall and him have been best friends since Niall came about 2 years ago from Ireland, meeting when Harry tripped clumsily in the hall causing him to drop all of his books on the tiled floors. Niall had been the only one not to laugh and help him pick them up, and as they say the rest was history.

“Alright sweetie,” Anne leans down and kisses his forehead.

“M _um_ ,” Harry whines, looking around to make sure no one’s seen.

Anne chuckles, “Good luck.”

“Yea, good luck dweeb,” Gemma says, fixing her hair for about the 100th time.

Harry walks away, finally scooting up next to Niall, bumping their shoulders together.

“Styles.” Niall says.

“Horan.”

They turn and look at each other, straight-faced before they start laughing, nerves briefly forgotten and giddiness overtaking them.

“Ready for tonight?” Harry asks, after their laughing has subdued.

“A bit nervous, but yea I’m ready. I’ve been practicing all week,” Niall says, rubbing his thin hands together, as if to warm them.

“Me too,” Harry looks around to the other kids in his choir class, they’re all huddled into groups, clear cliques that will be broken up once they get to highschool, Harry thinks. He shakes out his curls and waits with Niall until Ms. Wayne rounds them up, gives them a confidence inducing speech, which has Harry’s blood pumping viciously through his veins and heart pounding against his chest, and then checks their line up behind the curtain before it’s drawn up.

Just before the thick red curtain is pulled up, Niall elbows Harry in the ribs, a smile on his face, “Good luck.”

Harry smiles back, cheek dimpling, “You too mate.”

The hum under his skin is its highest he’s ever felt it when the curtain is finally drawn up, the lights shining down on them like beacons of warming light; the crowd is big considering it’s just a choir concert.

Each song that passes, Harry gets more and more nervous for his and Niall’s solo’s that are coming up. Ms. Wayne thought it would be a brilliant idea for him to sing while Niall plays the guitar. The song before their big debut the lights are dimmed and they hurry off stage to set up and make sure everything is in tune.

“I don’t think I can do this,” Harry pants, the nerves back in his gut pulling on his stomach. His hum centers around his middle as if it’s trying to comfort him, give him the strength to get over his nerves and nail his solo.

Niall puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder before he pulls him into a comforting hug, “We’ll do great, just breathe.”

“Two minutes boys,” Mrs. Kent , the band teacher, says.

Harry’s stomach drops, before he’s running down the short hallway to the bathroom and throwing up his dinner.

Niall comes in behind him, placing a hand on his back as Mrs. Kent hands him a water bottle and asks if he’s okay.

He stands up, steadies himself, “No,” he whispers.

“Harry, you’re a brilliant singer, you’ll do wonderfully,” Mrs. Kent says around a soft and honest smile.

Harry breathes in and out, trying to center himself before he’s being rushed back into the auditorium and sat on a stool next to Niall as he plays his guitar.

He looks out into the crowd, skims over the countless faces before he spots his Mum and sister, giving them a smile and looks over to Niall, nods, then closes his eyes.

Niall starts with the opening chords, it’s a fairly simply song on the guitar from what Harry knows of it, so when the third C is struck he closes his eyes and starts in. He focuses on the humming in his bones as he carries the melody and lets the words he’s practiced for the last couple of weeks float out of his mouth, and drift through the ears of the listeners.

When the chorus starts, the choir behind he and Niall start in on the harmony, making it sound almost professional. Harry smiles shyly down into his microphone, chancing a glance up at the crowd and Ms. Wayne, he opens his eyes to see the awestruck expressions of the crowd and the proud smile on Ms. Wayne’s face.

Finishing off the song, almost perfectly, Harry and Niall stand and take a bow. They let the roaring of the applause from their fellow choir members, to the families in the audience wash over them like a tidal wave.

Niall pulls him into a quick hug, “Told you, you’d do great.”

Harry rolls his eyes affectionately as they pull apart, returning to their spots in the line up to finish off with the choir.

★

After the show when all the parents and performers are in the lobby outside the auditorium Shelby walks up to Harry, placing a small, finger nail panted hand on his shoulder and says, with a shy smile and fluttering eyelashes, “You did great, Harry.”

Harry blushes down to his toes as he mutters a quiet ‘thanks’.

Gemma walks over with a raised eyebrow and cocked hip, “You’ve got a crush.”

“Do not,” Harry mumbles, as he shoves his hands in his pants pockets and rushes out the school doors to the car.

★

Two weeks later he and Shelby are dating.

Being the first real couple in their year, they become this thing that everyone knows about, from the teachers to the lowest of the social pyramid.

Niall gives him thumbs up and winks when he walks through the hall with his arm around her shoulders, or when he kisses her when they part ways to go to their classes.

The friendly hum in his bones goes mute, doesn’t zap him to life in Drama or lull him to sleep during History anymore, it’s vanished, or is set on its lowest setting to where Harry can’t even feel a hint of it.

He doesn’t tell anyone how he’d rather have that constant humming back than be this stupid “power” couple with one of the prettiest girls in school.

★

They date for roughly 3 months, before they break up.

Harry feels mildly horrible about it, if he’s honest.

Shelby had asked him to meet at their usually spot at the tree near the river so they could ‘spend some time together’ but Harry didn’t like the way her eyes fluttered or the way her smile curled around her words so he decided that he would break up with her that night.

But, he wasn’t expecting to find little candles lining the bridge when he arrived that night.

Shelby was standing against the tree with a smile on her face.

“Hii,” she had drawn out, and leant up to kiss him.

He smiled politely before backing up, “What is this for?” he asked timidly.

“Oh, well,” she paused and looked up, and Harry knew he couldn’t let her continue with the way she was looking at him, no matter how cruel it might be.

“Listen, Shelby I actually need to talk to you about something,” he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Me too,” she said with enthusiasm.

“Okay, umm,” he started nervously, not wanting to hurt her feelings, “You’re really great, and pretty, and I love hanging out with you but I just think we would be better off as friends.”

He watched as her face went from happy to broken in a matter of seconds.

“Are- are you breaking up with me?” she stuttered, tears already starting to leak from her eyes.

Harry nodded his head as a sob broke through the thick atmosphere as she started to walk away. He started towards the tree and slide down, placing his head on his knees, trying to calm the nerves in his stomach and guilt in his chest.

He looked up, and in the distance saw a hazy gold glow, but before he could get up and investigate, the glowing was gone and the humming in his chest was back.

★

After he and Shelby broke up there was slight tension in school, since they were a “power” couple, which Harry scoffs out, honestly their 13, but once football season starts up it’s like everyone forgets they were even together.

See their school isn’t the best at football but they’re not the worst either.

“You finally gonna try out this year with me?” Niall asks one day when they’re at lunch.

Harry picks at his Peanut and Jelly sandwich, that Gemma made him this morning. His stomach grumbles but he’s sure Gemma poisoned the sandwich because apparently that’s appropriate revenge for when he and Niall put one of her bras in the freezer.

“You’ve seen me play Niall, I’m pretty sure I won’t make it,” Harry pushes away his sandwich, which Niall takes immediately and chomps on; Harry doesn’t warn him, he instead takes Niall’s crisps, it’s a fair trade.

“Mate, you’ll be fine. You’d be surprised how bad some of the players are,” his mouth clicks with peanut butter as he speaks.

“I guess, but you’ve got to do my science homework for me though,” Harry jargons.

“Only for a week and it’s a deal,” Niall sticks out his jelly, sticky hand.

Harry rolls his eyes before smacking their hands together and sealing their deal.

★

Surprisingly, he makes the team.

Just like Niall said, a lot of the other kids are worse off than him who try out. He is one of the last ones picked, but when he finds out the humming in his bones jumps, making his mouth pull up into a happy grin, like this is some monumental moment in his life, being picked for his schools sucky football team.

“See,” Niall claps a hand on his shoulder, goaly glove soft to the touch.

“Yeah, yeah,” Harry shakes his head.

“Horan! Styles! Back on the pitch!” Coach yells to them.

“Come on, _Styles,_ ” Niall teases, “We’ve got to practice for the match against Doncaster in a few weeks.”

They start to jog out into their positions, “Do none of the other matches matter?”

“Not really, no.”

Harry laughs before standing behind some kid with a blue streak in his hair to kick the ball into the goal.

★

“Mate you look horrid,” Niall states as they walk out of the locker room and onto the field to practice, Coach has been going extra hard this week during practice because they have their big match against Doncaster next week.

“I _feel_ horrid,” Harry screws up his face as his stomach knots, bile almost rising up.

“Did you eat something funky?” Niall questions, grabbing a ball from the bag near the bench; he starts to dribble it between his bird legs.

“Barely anything,” Harry deadpans, wrapping an arm around his middle.

Niall stops tossing the ball between his feet and walks over to Harry, he places an arm around his shoulders, “You look like you’re about to be sick.”

Harry looks up and he’s sure his face is green, the bile in his stomach starts to rise up and as if Niall knows his body as well as he knows his own, he quickly guides them over to one of the waste bins.

His stomach clenches as he empties the content of his stomach into the bin. The burning in the back of his throat is like swallowing hot tea but worse, his legs are shaking and he knows if Niall weren’t still holding onto his middle he would’ve fell to the ground by now.

“What’s up with Styles, Horan?” Coach walks over, voice calm.

“Think he might’ve eaten something bad, looks like food poisoning,” Niall lies easily.

Harry still has his head in the bin, looking down at discarded water bottles and old nachos from last night’s pep rally, another round of vomit exits his mouth. He can hear the sound of disgust in Coach’s voice, “Right, well take him back to the locker room and call his Mum.”

He guesses Niall nods because a moment later he’s being lead back into the locker room and sat on one of the benches in front of the lockers.

Niall grabs his phone from the bag in his locker, quickly dials Anne’s number and tells her what happened. A moment later he’s sitting next to Harry with a water bottle and tissues, “Here.”

Harry nods, “Thanks,” he drinks the water, letting the coolness of it soothe his throat. All he wants to do is go home, brush the foul taste from his mouth and maybe sleep. He’s not sure what made him get suddenly sick, it felt like someone had punched him in the gut all of a sudden.

“Your Mum should be here in the next few minutes, she was just leaving work,” Niall informs him, then a moment later, “Do you feel any better?”

Shaking his head, Harry takes another sip from his water bottle, “I didn’t even feel like this this morning?”

“Maybe what you ate for lunch,” Niall suggests.

“Niall _you_ ate my lunch,” Harry points out.

Remembrance flashes over Niall’s face, “Right.”

Silence blankets over them as Harry continues to drink his water. The vibration in his bones thumps against his skin like it’s trying to escape. Harry hugs around his middle, it surprisingly makes him feel a little better, but he’s still on edge when Niall brings him out to his car.

“Do you need a ride home sweetheart?” Anne asks Niall after he shut the door for Harry.

“No thank you, Greg should be here in like 10 minutes to pick me up,” he smiles.

“Alright, thank you,” Anne says with a sweet smile, before driving off.

 

When Harry gets home he heads straight for the bathroom, brushes his teeth, strips out of his uniform and then passes out on his bed.

★

“You like to stare at us in the locker room, faggot,” a boy with jet black hair says.

Harry’s standing off to the side, watching the encounter between a caramel haired boy and 4 other boys, all in football gear, he tries to move to stand up for the boy, but he’s stationary in his spot.

The boy stares up to Jet Black, not saying anything. A boy with freckles all over his face speaks next, “We should talk to Coach about this,” he says vindictively.

Caramel looks down at the ground, jaw clenched like he wants to say something but he just can’t get the words out, another boy with floppy, dark brown hair runs over, he places a protective arm around Caramel who still has his head down, “You guys are assholes, you’re just jealous because he can actually play footie while you guys sit on the bench.”

Floppy starts to guide him and Caramel away, Harry has a sense of affection towards Floppy for a moment before he sees the green tint to Caramel’s skin. Harry hugs around his stomach as the aching from early returns for a ghostly moment, Caramel does the same and his face softens a fraction.

He sees Floppy and Caramel exchange a few words before they disappear into what Harry assumes is the locker room.

He wakes up with a start, his mother shaking his shoulder, a cold rag in hand, “Baby, it’s okay,” she coos.

Harry takes deep breathes and grabs the glass of water on his night stand as his mother dabs the cloth over his forehead.

“I made some soup if you’re up for it,” she says gently.

Harry shakes his head, “Don’t think I would be able to hold it down.”

Anne mocks hurt, mouth dropping in fake offense as she pulls away the cloth from his forehead, “Well if that’s how you feel about my cooking,” her face betrays her in the act, the smile on her face stretches like elastic.

“Mum,” Harry laughs lightly, wrapping an arm around his stomach.

“Alright, alright. Here take these and you can go back to sleep. We’ll see how you feel in the morning for school,” she hands him two tablets that he quickly gulps back.

“Thanks,” he croaks.

She nods and leaves the room, the door clicking softly behind her.

Harry turns in his bed, wrapping the blankets around him like a cocoon. He stares out of the sliver in between his curtains and out at the stars, they twinkle at him as if to say hello. He smiles and pans his vision over to the moon; it smiles back at him against the dark of night.

The humming that’s been with him since as far back as he can remember, shocks through his bones as he thinks about someone somewhere else looking up at the same moon.

Before he drifts off to sleep a fleeting thought about tattoos passes through his mind, a dark five point star inked into the inside of his bicep.

 _In time,_ he thinks.

★

The following Friday in school is chaos.

Everyone is hyped up for the game against Doncaster that night, which Harry isn’t so sure why because according to Niall they haven’t won against them in years, anyways, everyone pats their backs when the final bell rings and tells them good luck.

They have about 2 hours before the game actually starts, given the fact that the team from Doncaster has to travel a way to get here, so he and Niall spend those two hours at Harry’s house playing FIFA and pulling pranks on Gemma and one of her friends that she’s brought over.

“Harry I swear to god I will shave all your hair off!” Gemma shouts at them, “And Niall I will make sure my mum doesn’t give you seconds!”

The two boys laugh at her empty threats and before they know it, with Gemma’s lipstick collection in the freezer, and lemon chicken in their tummies it’s time for the game.

 

Everyone is already in the locker room when he and Niall arrive.

“Nice of you lads to finally show up,” Coach scoffs, he’s not very friendly on game days, or regular days for that matter.  

They go over their game plans before filing out onto the field to warm up.

It’s gloomy out, the sky covered with grey clouds, only letting some of the sun’s rays peek out. It’s typical whether for a day in England, but for some reason Harry feels like they’re in the tropics. There’s this sudden fluttering in his stomach and spark of lightening in his veins as he passes the ball over to Blue Streak, Michael he thinks his name may be.

“Locker rooms! Now!” Coach yells, unexpectedly.

The balls that were being dribbled or passed get left on the field as they all jog back into the locker room, Coach coming in after them with steam dripping from his ears.

“Alright, listen, Parker just puked up his brains so we need someone to cover his position,” Coach runs a hand through his thin brown hair.

“Styles you’re taking over Parkers spot.”

“W-what?” Harry questions, Parker is a starter, Harry never starts.

“You wouldn’t be my first pick, but truth is your actually pretty good at the position but Parker is better so he usually does it, but now it’s your time to shine kid.”

There are grumbles from around the locker room of how the newbie gets to starts.

“Hey!” Coach shouts, “Maybe if you all straightened up your game a little we would actually win against this god forsaken team, and don’t go mumbling about Styles starting, he’s good, better than half you lot.”  

The room falls silent, “That’s what I thought; now get back out there and finish warming up. Styles practice starting when you get back out there,” Coach instructs.

“Nice mate,” Niall knocks into his shoulder as they jog back out onto the pitch.

Walking out, they notice that the Doncaster team has finally arrived and have started to warm up. Harry’s heart randomly jumps as he practices with Josh and JJ their offense.

A sudden shout comes from the bench of the opposing team as Harry sees two boys, who look awfully familiar, but he can’t place why, shouting back and forth as another joins in.

Their coach yells and one of them turns his head, nodding before he and two others walk onto the pitch as the Ref blows his whistle.

“Alright, Styles ready to start your first match?” Josh claps a hand over his shoulder.

“No,” Harry says truthfully, nerves rushing through his veins.

“You’ll do fine, mate. We don’t expect to win anyways, just play for fun,” JJ adds from his other side.

He nods as they take their places, shaking hands with the other three; a shock zaps down his spine.

As the boy, Tomlinson his jersey reads, calls heads when the Ref throws the coin Harry notices the gold hew around him, green flecks reflecting in the sun light. His eyes go wide, alert because he’s seen that glow before.

Tomlinson, knits his brows at him.

‘ _You’re glowing_ ,’ he mouths.

The boy can barely take into account what Harry’s said before the Ref is calling heads and counting them in to start the match.

The beginning of the game starts off slow, just them defending back and forth, missed goals on both sides until about halfway through Harry gets the ball and dribbles it down the field, he can see the open spot for a goal so he winds his foot back and kicks, but one of the boys, who was in the commotion earlier, sends it on a long kick to one of the starters who kicks it into their goal, making it 1-0.

Harry kicks at the dirt for not scanning his area better. He doesn’t have much time to wallow before he’s running towards midfield to grab the ball. He dribbles it back down the field, scans and knows he has a perfect chance to make a goal. He lines his stance up and swings his foot back, but once he steps he knows he’s a made a mistake.

He misses the ball and rolls on his ankle making him fall onto his knee. His left leg aches as he hears the Ref sound the whistle for a time out. Niall and Dan help him up, applause sounds from the sidelines as they walk him over to the bench and set him down.

Coach examines his ankle and knee and says he thinks they’re sprained, nothing major, and  hands him an icepack.

Harry watches as Tomlinson gets handed an icepack of his own, holding it to his ankle. Harry’s face contorts in confusion because he hasn’t been on the field for the last 10 minutes or so.

He shakes his head when a jolt of pain shots up his leg.

Watching the rest of the game from the bench, Harry keeps his eyes on Tomlinson as he’s switched back into the game, playing the field like a pro with his defense and carefully calculated kicks.

Dan steals the ball from number 21, Malik, at some point and makes their first goal. There’s barely 2 minutes left, with the game tied before Tomlinson is dribbling down the field towards the goal, if he makes it: Doncaster wins.

He ends up getting a goal kick, which sends them winning 2-1.

The whole Doncaster team runs onto the field and piles on top of him with shouts and whistles. Harry watches on, a small amount of affection blooming in his chest.

“Line up!” Coach yells to them.

They all line up in the middle of the field; Harry’s last in line because of his ankle, so when he gets to Tomlinson they linger for a moment before Tomlinson says, in a sweet raspy voice, “Hope you’re ankle feels better.”

A shock runs down Harry’s arm to his ankle as he whispers back a small, “Thanks.”

After Coach gives, what Niall tells him is his annual Doncaster vs. Holmes Chapel losing speech, they head into the locker room to shower and get changed.

Harry takes a little longer than everyone else because of the pain that’s pounding in his ankle. When he finally emerges from the showers, clothes hanging off his body, Niall is the only one left in the locker room.

“Finally,” Niall looks up from his phone, eyes going wide.

Harry knits his eyebrows together in confusion, “What?”

“Okay, don’t freak out but I think you’re glowing,” Niall deadpans.

“Are you on drugs?” Harry asks, packing up his bag.

“Mate, I am positive when I say: You. Are. Glowing.”

Harry shakes his head as he rolls his eyes, he walks next to Niall, bag thrown over their shoulders, and looks into the mirror. Sure enough there’s a silver haze around his body, blue sparks reflecting in the mirror.

“Well that’s new,” Harry says nonchalant.

“You’re _glowing_ and all you have to say is ‘that’s new’,” Niall says incredulously.

“Well, I mean what’s the point in freaking out, it’s not like I can fix it,” Harry starts towards the locker room door, Niall chasing after him.

They’re halfway across the field, the Doncaster bus just pulling away, when Niall grabs Harry’s arm and turns him around, shouting, “You can’t just walk out in public,” he hisses, “What if like the FBI sees you  and takes you in for dissection or something,” he flails his arms around, like that’s a thing that would actually happen.

Harry rolls his eyes and shrugs again, “Mate, I’ve seen it before.”

“You’ve glowed before?”

“No, you know Tomlinson? He was glowing during pretty much the whole game and he looked fine to me.”

Niall’s face scrunches up, eyebrows pulling together, and nose wrinkling, “Tomlinson was _glowing_?”

“Yes, didn’t you see?”

“Um, no?”

“Oh, well, he was. Now can we please go my Mum is waiting for us and I’m hungry,” Harry whines.

“Whatever, man but if you start pissing and it glows in the dark, don’t come running to me,” Niall shoulders his bag and starts walking with Harry towards Anne’s car.

“You’ll be the first I call.”

Niall groans.

★

“So I’ve been doing some research,” Niall falls back against Harry’s bed.

“When did you even get here?” Harry questions, looking up from his book, he didn’t even know Niall was coming over.

“About 2 minutes ago, but listen, mate, I think I know why you were glowing.”

“I told you Niall, there’s nothing weird about it just leave it,” Harry flips a page.

“Harry, you were _glowing._ That just doesn’t _happen_ ,” Niall sits up.

Harry sighs, “Alright, what’ve you found?”

Niall laughs, poor sod, “Okay so I think you have super powers,” Niall says, completely serious.

Harry’s face stays blank, “What,” he deadpans.

“Yeah, I read this article and this man got struck by lightning and then gained super powers.”

“Okay, first off I’ve never got struck my lightening, and second off, I told you it’s nothing to worry about,” Harry opens his book back up, looking down at the page, he doesn’t remember where he left off.

“Fine, but if you’re not gonna believe me, can we at least play FIFA or something,” Niall falls back against the bed, making it bounce around him, like a water rippling.

“Fine,” Harry recloses his book and gets up, Niall following behind him as they make their way downstairs to the living room.

As they round the corner Harry can hear Gemma whining to their Mum, “Come on! Please!” she’s saying, or whining. Harry doesn’t know how she’s the oldest.

“Gemma, I told you no the first time, if you keep asking the answer won’t change,” Anne is mixing something in a bowl, not even looking at Gemma as she scolds her.

“But M _um_ I’ve wanted to see them for so long! Please! I’ll babysit for the dork whenever you want! Just please,” she begs.

“Hey!” Harry calls from the living room, “I don’t need a babysitter I’m gonna be 15 in like 2 months!”

“Shut it!” Gemma shouts back.

“Hold on,” Harry throws the controllers to Niall so he can continue to set up the game.

He walks out into the kitchen, Gemma is standing in front of the stove as their Mum finishes mixing some batter for dinner. She’s got the bowl in her arms like a baby as she turns towards Gemma, scolding her again for whining.

“What are you on about?”

“Nothing,” Gemma says, annoyed.

Harry looks to his Mum, but she just shakes her head. He scans the kitchen until his eyes land on a piece of paper on the kitchen table. He walks over and picks it up; it’s a simple piece of paper with a stage and lights on it, colored in mostly greens with a bunch of dates on the bottom, all across the UK.

“No way,” he breathes.

“Exactly,” Gemma says exasperated.

“Mum,” Harry looks up, puts on his biggest puppy dog eyes and sweet baby face.

“No,” Anne points her whisk at him.

Harry and Gemma share a look before having a silent conversation with their eyes.

“Yeah, Mum come on. You’re always saying me and Harry should spend more ‘bounding time’ together. This would be the perfect opportunity,” she hooks her fingers around the words and then throws her slim arm around Harry’s shoulders. Harry beams.

She sets down the bowl, “Let me see that,” she motions for Harry to hand her the paper, he does so willingly, almost shoving it in her hands.

She scans the dates, “Manchester?” she questions.

Harry looks to Gemma who starts nodding her head, he nods along with her. He imagines they look like some gift shop toys, attached at the sides of their hips, big green eyes, heads nodding out of control, up and down, up and down.

“Who would be going?”

“Me and Niall,” -

“Me and Lou,”-

They both answer at the same time, sharing a quick glare before they turn back to their Mum with beaming smiles planted on their faces.  

“Alright, but you have to keep your grades up and if you don’t neither of you are going, and Gemma you’d have to look after Harry.”

Harry’s about to complain about how he doesn’t need looking after, and almost as if Gemma can sense his complaint, she pinches his shoulder, he grimaces, “Of course I will,” she smiles.

“Okay, I’ll look into the tickets after dinner, and they’ll be an early Christmas present,” she turns back around, and takes off the waist apron that Harry’s Nan got her last year for her birthday.

“Thank you so much,” Harry and Gemma attack their Mum in a hug, before they both pull away, making horrible faces at each other.

“You know, one day you two are gonna look back at these times and laugh,” Anne laughs to herself, it twinkles off the pots and pans in the kitchen.

Gemma rolls her eyes and nudges past Harry to go back to her room. Harry smiles at his Mum once more, before heading back into the living room where Niall is staring at the screen, trying to pick a team.

“Guess what,” Harry smiles, dimple in his cheek indenting.

Niall looks up, expectant.

“We’re going to see the Script in February.”

★

When the concert finally arrives Harry is so excited that the humming that courses through him everyday heightens and explodes like stars.

“Okay, so we’ll meet over there by the ticket booth,” Gemma says for about the 18th time. Anne has trusted her to take Harry and Niall on the train, along with them to the concert so even though she’s trying not to show it the responsibility is eating at her.

Harry places a hand on her shoulder and when she looks at him and whispers, “We’ll be fine. We’ve both got phones if anything, so does Niall,” he adds as an afterthought.

She nods, “Okay,” then a moment later, “Thank you.”

Harry pats her shoulder once before handing the women with too purple lipstick his ticket to scan and then he’s in, Niall standing in front of him with an amused expression painted across his face.

Before Harry can ask what, Gemma is nudging his shoulder, “We’re gonna go get drinks, meet us at the seats.”

Harry nods and watches as her and Lou, a slightly older friend that Gemma made through gymnastics, go off towards the concession stand. He turns back towards Niall who still has the same amusement on his face, his eyes shine with it like the sun glistening off the sea.

“What?” Harry asks, as they make their way towards the entrance they need to go through to get to their seats.

“Nothing mate, but you’re glowing,” he smirks before they turn into the tunnel, shadows wash over them.

Harry looks down at his hands, at his whole body, and sure enough he is. The silver hue glazes over his figure like stardust, and the blue flecks like baby stars, waiting to expand and become homes to planets.

He looks back up to Niall once they enter the main area that holds the stage and thousands of chairs, he smiles.

He’s on fire.

 

The bass thuds through the floor of the venue as song after song plays. Harry can feel it in his chest; his heartbeat matches with the percussion and skips over the breaths the lead takes.

Harry glances to his right to see Gemma and Lou bouncing on their feet to the sound, shouting the lyrics at the top of their lungs. He looks to his left to see Niall doing the same, he laughs to himself before joining in.

The song passes and the lead takes the mic, “I’m gonna slow it down a little now, hope you don’t mind.”

The crowd cheers, like waves crashing on the shore.

Soft guitar chords start drifting in, another crashing wave, and then the hushing as the sea calms. Harry looks behind him to see stars; phone and camera lights shine against the darkness of the venue.

Harry doesn’t even have to ask Niall why he’s giving him that face, he can feel the glow that surrounds him get brighter, the humming grow louder in his ears.

The chorus starts, and Harry swears he hears the voice of an angel floating across everyone else in the crowd.

★

“I can’t believe we’re actually gonna do this,” Niall’s leg jitters up and down as the sit in the car, pulling up to the lot with thousands of hopeful acts waiting for their chance to shine.

“Me either,” Harry says, staring out his window, it was sort of a drawn out thing to get him to audition for X-Factor, but with some persuading and Niall doing it by his side, he was pretty much sold (plus he just made the age cut, so he took that as some sort of cosmic sign).

Anne pulls into a parking spot; looking in the rearview mirror, she meets both of their gazes, “Ready boys?”

They nod, nervous litter head jerks, more like, before everyone: the two boys, Gemma, Anne, and Maura, Niall’s mom, climb out of the car and into the registration line.

 

Waiting in this line is one of the most tortuous things that Harry has ever encountered, and he’s suffered through mornings with Gemma for 16 years of his life.

“Hey,” Niall knocks their elbows together, gently, “You good?”

Harry thinks for a moment, concentrates on this sudden feeling that bursts through his chest, like someone has thrown a baseball at him that exploded into confetti once it hit his chest, “Yea, I think I will be.”

Silence, yet chatter filled moments pass before he hears Niall whisper, “Fucking hell.”

Harry looks up from his seat in front of the camera, they pulled him off for an interview a few minutes earlier, and meets Niall’s eyes that are darting between him and something else in the distance that he can’t see.

Niall’s gaze finally lands on him, and before he opens his mouth Harry can feel the friendly silver glow start to emit around him, warming him through like rays of sunshine, making mountains on his bones for someone to shout off of, claim the peaks as their own.

He smiles into the camera.

★

They make it.

They both come rushing off the stage after their auditions, jumping into the other’s arms and screaming into each other’s ears. It doesn’t take long before they’re surrounded by everyone else they came with, multiple pairs of arms wrapped around them in happiness.

Harry is ecstatic with it, can’t believe he actually made it, that he has to excuse himself to the loo for a moment to himself.

As he’s walking in the direction of the toilet, he can feel the glow that he’s become accustomed to over the last couple of years, start to expand around him. He hums to himself, matching his tune to the one that courses through his veins.

He passes a mirror a few feet before the door to the bathroom, catching a glimpse of himself in it, he retraces his steps until he’s stood in front of it looking at himself in awe. The glow is its brightest that Harry has ever seen it, the silver like pure moonlight and the blue like newly formed stars.

Water sounds from the pipes in the bathroom making the glow get sucked into Harry’s body, like its hiding. He scrunches his brows, it’s never done that before.

Stepping away from the mirror, he walks the last fews steps into the bathroom and when he opens the door he sees none other than Tomlinson, staring at himself in the mirror.

He walks over to the sink, bottom lip pulled between his teeth, trying to hide a smile that he doesn’t know why it’s trying to stretch across his face. He turns on the tap, and splashes the cool water over his face.

“You were really great,” Tomlinson says with a warm smile, that makes his skin almost glow gold, his eyes crinkle at the sides and Harry thinks they’re the bluest blue he’s ever seen.

Nerves take the better of him as he squeaks out a, “You too,” which he mentally slaps himself for a moment later.

Not even a second passes before Harry is being pulled into a rushed hug, Tomlinson wrapping his warm arms around him and murmuring, “You’ll be fine, don’t even worry about it,” into his ear and then pulling away. Harry’s not sure why but he believes him, so he smiles.

Tomlinson pats him on the cheek and then slips out of the door, leaving Harry stunned and with a warm impression on his cheek.

★

Later than night when he and Niall are laying in his room thinking about bootcamp, he whispers into the silent air, “Guess who was there.”

He turns so he and Niall are looking at each other, a knowing look flashes over Niall’s face, “Who?”

“Tomlinson.”

Niall laughs, a quick burst of sound like a balloon popping, before patting Harry’s shoulder, “Mate, everything happens for a reason.”

And, well, Harry really doesn’t know what Niall means, but when does he ever?

★

Bootcamp is a hazy week of performances and stress that Harry was not prepared for.

He and Niall are separated more often than not, but when they’re finally together again it’s when they’re being told that they haven’t made it, that the judges are sorry but this is the end of the road.

Harry cries. Niall cries, who wouldn’t be crying?

Harry briefly thinks back to Tomlinson and how his name wasn’t called either, he wonders if he’s crying, if he could use a hug, but then Niall is pulling him into a hug of his own and sobs wreck through his body.

Niall pulls away and then his eyes go wide.

“No,” Harry sobs, “I’m getting really fucking tired of this,” he complains, because he knows those wide eyes, they’re the wide eyes Niall gives him when he starts glowing.  

“You’re telling me,” Niall says.

A moment later the boys group is being called backstage again and his and Niall’s name along with, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, and Liam Payne, who all are on the Doncaster’s football team, Niall tells him, are called back in front of the judges.

Harry’s nerves are on end as he glances over to Louis, he sees a gold bubble around him, and elbows Niall in the side and moves his eyes over so he can look. Niall’s eyes go wide for a moment before a smile breaks across his face.

Louis decides then to meet Harry’s gaze, his eyes going wide as he must notice the silver bubble that surrounds Harry, and as Nicole and Simon announce they would like them to be a group, they’re all staring at Louis and Harry and the strange sparkling bubbles.

Harry squeezes Louis’ shoulder, “We would like to take this opportunity,” he says and then the moment Simon says they’re through to judge’s houses he strides towards Louis and picks him up off the ground, hands under his thighs and head buried in his neck as he spins them around.

When they pull away from each other Harry notices that they’re bubbles of gold and silver had shattered around them. A moment passes before Harry has this sudden shift in his bones like someone has finally taken claim to those mountain tops and is shouting, “I’m king of the world!”

★

“So,” Niall says from his spot in their circle, they’re all in one of the hotel rooms, spending the night with each other to just break the ice before they have to work together as a band, “Do you guys have an explanation for the glows?” he directs towards Zayn and Louis.

“Well,” Zayn starts, then glances at Louis as if asking him if he wants to explain it instead. Louis shakes his head and motions for him to continue as he slides his hands through Harry’s curls on his lap, “Louis and Harry are soulmates, to put it simply. You see Plato and Aristotle, ancient Greek philosophers, both had theories on this and Aristotle’s is more appropriate, you see. He believed in a singular soul that was split between two people, so you literally needed the other to complete yourself. Hence the hues, they were, what I’m assuming, like shields against other people to not go near them.”

“But I’ve had a girlfriend before,” Harry states, he feels Louis’ hand still.

“Did you by any chance make her cry near a tree?” Louis questions, looking down at him.

“Yes? That’s when we broke up. How did you-” He starts but Zayn cuts him off-

“That’s the other thing you two also probably dreamt about each other but didn’t realise it, it was like you two were observing into the other’s life because you missed them even if you didn’t know each other, well you’re souls knew each other, but you know what I mean.”

“So, like a super power?” Niall asks, Harry rolls his eyes.

“No, more like it was written in the stars, since the beginning of time,” Zayn says dramatically and Harry remembers when he was 7 and being put to bed on Christmas Eve, when his Mum told him about there being pieces of stars in him, and pieces of those same stars inside someone else.  

Louis laughs, a loud raucous thing that shakes his whole body, Harry wants to hear that laugh forever , maybe make it happen a few times, or all the time.

“You’re such a dork Zayn,” Liam laughs, Zayn punches his shoulder.

“Come on, let’s got out,” Niall gets up from his spot, “To celebrate these two finally finding each other and for us all finding each other.”

A chorus of aww’s sound through the room, along with bags of crisps being thrown in Niall’s direction.

Niall rushes out of the door first, they all follow behind but when Harry looks back and sees Louis missing, he goes back and leans on the doorframe, watches at Louis grabs a notebook form his bag and a pen, he waits a moment then becomes impatient, “Come on,” he whines.

Louis looks at him with a manic grin on his face and crinkles by his eyes before he scribbles something in the notebook, he closes it and stuffs it back in his bag before coming over to Harry and tucking himself under his left arm.

“Hi,” Louis looks up under a flutter of lashes.

“Hey,” Harry smiles back.

“Come on you two!” Zayn shouts and then a moment later Harry can hear Niall saying, “Lads, you sure you wanna go through with this band thing with these two, it’s gonna be disgusting I can see it already,” Liam and Zayn laugh as they wait for the elevator.

“I’m sure,” Louis whispers so only Harry can hear.

“Me too,” Harry replies and Louis presses a soft kiss to the inside of his arm, making Harry think briefly, that maybe in a few years time he will get that star tattoo. 

**Author's Note:**

> hopefully this satisfied those who wanted a part two! and hopefully i cleared up some stuff about afterwards ans everything! (i hope the ending was alright, you guys know how i am about my endings)
> 
> kudos and comments always appreciated .x


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